Some TV shows have lives long after their run on TV, with fans re-watching and quoting episodes for years to come. Gilmore Girls is definitely in that category, and its ongoing popularity is so strong that it got a reboot A Year In The Life (which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription). The cast of the comedy series are iconic in their own right, although actress Keiko Agena recently explained her complicated feelings about playing Lane Kim.
While Gilmore Girls fan debate which of Rory's boyfriends was the best or the times Lorelai was the worst, they universally agree about the love for Lane. Keiko Agena recently appeared on the podcast Dear Felicity, where she spoke about the discrepancy between the fan perception of her character, and her actual experience filming the series. As he put it:
For me, it's this separate thing a little bit because I think what [the role] was for people was different than what it was for me. And so, in a weird way, I feel like I want to honor the experience that people had from the show, and what it meant to them, especially young Asian people, because I get that comment a lot, about what it was like for them to see someone like that on screen.
Clearly the 13 Reasons Why actress has heard from plenty of young Asian people since wrapping her time in Star's Hollow as Lane Kim. Indeed, Lane's heritage was a main part of her plot throughout the series, often clashing with Mrs. Kim's conservative values. Although in reality, Agena was quite different from her fictional counterpart.
While Lane was in High School when she was first introduced in Gilmore Girls, in reality Agena was pretty grown up. She was 27 years old when filming began, playing opposite Alexis Bledel's Rory, who was 19 at the time. Despite this age gap, the two had incredible chemistry. Later in that same podcast appearance, Keiko Agena got honest about how she felt filming the beloved series by Amy Sherman-Palladino, saying:
And, for myself, it was such a survival mode situation. I didn't think of it that way at the time. And so now it's just a mix of just having gratitude for having gone through that experience and having that experience.
Points were made. The TV and film industry can be a brutal one, even for actors who have successfully landed a major gig like Gilmore Girls. Keiko Agena says she was in "survival mode", and perhaps the discrepancy between her age and Lane's was part of this stress. And she seems to appreciate how much the fans love her character, as she put it:
I think I'm at a transition point in my life where I have to let go of the pressure that I put on myself to be the best version of who it is that I think that you love. Because I love her too. I can tell, when I meet someone who knows Gilmore Girls or who loves Lane, it's like, I recognize that love. I see that you love that person
In the end, Agena would reprise her role as Lane Kim in the follow-up Gilmore Girls series. What's more, A Year In The Life ended a long-running mystery: the identity of Lane's father Mr. Kim. Clearly Agena has put the time to reconcile her feelings about originally filming the series, as well as its ongoing legacy.
Both Gilmore Girls shows are streaming now on Netflix. For now, check the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
